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Chico Poker network leaves New Jersey and several countries
Until last week, Chico Poker Network (BetOnline and SportsBetting) accepted players from the 50 states of the USA. Suddenly, this changed when players received emails informing that Chico was leaving New Jersey. In this article, we share all the details of the situation and where NJ residents can keep rolling.
Chico Poker Network expands its restricted jurisdiction list to 20
Chico Poker Network is one of the largest poker networks that serve the US market. Only two skins accept bets from US residents (BetOnline and SportsBetting) while TigerGaming doesn't accept US wagers. Last week, NJ residents received a communication stating that their accounts had been closed because the Garden State was now a restricted jurisdiction.
We don't believe that players have trouble receiving the balance they have in their accounts.
Why does Chico Poker network leave the NJ market?
A few months ago we received an ultimatum from PokerStars asking to delete "grey" poker rooms, something that was directly related to the launch of services in the Garden State. Most likely, Chico Poker leaves the NJ market to avoid any problem with local authorities, which may be imposing game restrictions in some way
In short, it's better to lose some players than to have the DOJ or DGE (New Jersey Division of Gambling Enforcement) breathing on your neck.
In what other jurisdictions does Chico Poker Network leave?
From only four restricted jurisdictions (Australia, France, Malta, Panama), BetOnline and SportsBetting jumped to 20:
- Australia
- Central African Republic
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Eritrea
- France
- Guinea-Bissau
- Iran
- Iraq
- Lebanon
- Libya
- Mali
- Malta
- New Jersey
- North Korea
- Panama
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Yemen
It isn't shocking to see that a poker network leaves those markets, as the political and financial instability makes it difficult to run a business there (although some of those markets are perfect for the development of soft underground clubs, and our VIP players have exclusive access).
It's important to say that Winning Poker, the main competitor of Chico Poker network has not serviced in New Jersey for a long time, and even its list is more extensive and includes Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware, Nevada, and Washington.
Where can NJ residents play online poker in 2019?
With the new scenario, residents of the Garden State have two options for playing online poker:
- Join regulated online poker rooms like WSOP, 888, PokerStars, partypoker, that feature low traffic, and almost no rakeback; those can be a decent option for some yearly MTT series like WSOP online;
- Use Worldpokerdeals services to join alternative poker networks (Israeli, Indian, PPPoker, Upoker, private deals for VIPs).
NJ residents should also study new payment methods like Bitcoin because the regulation always came with restrictions on traditional e-wallets like Skrill.
Summary
It's clear that gambling regulation in the USA is moving slowly but steady. Five states (Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia) have already legalized gambling, and the authorities are starting to enforce the law.
Chico and WPN are the largest US-facing poker networks and serve 92% of the country and for the remaining 8% (New Jersey included) we recommend contacting our team to get private and safe rakeback deals.
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